I love fishing weightless soft plastics for striped bass from shore because the topwater hits are exciting and the single hook makes releasing so much easier.
In this blog post we'll talk about how I like to fish weightless soft plastics and the types of environments in which they really shine throughout Cape Cod and the Islands.
Big Hogy soft plastics have always been a favorite of mine for striped bass, and even bluefin tuna!
Pictured above is a large Hogy soft plastics rigged on a size 10 BKK worm hook.
Other effective soft plastics I use often include Slug-Go's, Fish Snax and Albie Snax.
Pictured above are several different versions of soft plastics from the Fish Snax company. These specific soft plastics are known for their long casting ability. They cast much further than Slug-Go's
Typically I'll use a Lefty Kreh Loop Knot to tie my leader to the lure. Using a loop knot instead of a snap swivel or clip will give your weightless soft plastic more realistic action.
The Lefty Kreh Loop Knot is my favorite type of knot to use when fishing weightless soft plastics, because it allows the lure to move freely and impart extra action.
Most of the spots I find success with weightless soft plastics are shallow water areas. I've used them over the flats, in back bays, over weed beds and in boulder fields.
They really excel in shallow spots because they don't sink fast, and they are good choices in weedy areas because they are relatively weedless.
Weightless soft plastics work great in rocky, weedy, snaggy areas because they sink very slowly and don't get hung up on the bottom easily.
I like using weightless soft plastics in calm areas because they produce a subtle action that's ideal for quiet spots. I do not have as much success with them when the waves are rough and when the wind is blowing in my face.
In my experience, estuaries, bays and harbors are usually better bets for weightless soft plastics then wide open beaches like the Outer Cape.
Retrieving weightless soft plastics takes a little practice to get the action right. Typically I'll use a slow to medium speed retrieve with some twitches of the rod tip to give the soft plastics a slithering swimming action that striped bass love.
In the rest of this blog post I'll recap my two latest weightless soft plastic fishing adventures, which happened on Saturday August 17th and Sunday June 30th.
Scroll below to continue reading! 
Soft Plastics at Night | August 17th, 2024
It was a beautifully calm evening as I hiked down the beach in an area of the Cape which we'll talk about later in this report.
I knew I would be thinking about this moment in six months once winter had arrived. I always cherish perfect summer evenings because summertime on Cape always seems to pass by in a flash.
While walking along I picked up a few pieces of trash here and there which had washed up during the last high tide.
When I finally arrived at the spot there was nothing happening for the first 20 minutes. I was casting a black/grey 9 inch Hogy soft plastic, and retrieving it just beneath the surface at a medium speed with some twitches.
I was honestly just about to leave when I got my first hit.
Then for the next two hours it was a bite on almost every cast! A school must have moved in just when I was almost going to leave. I got lucky.
I’m not sure what they were feeding on, if anything.
It ended up being my second best trip of the 2024 season. I owe a big thank you to my wife Lauren for taking care of the baby while I was out until almost 2am! LOL
Ok, so let's now talk a little bit about the area I was fishing.